Fireheart's Exile: Brotherhood
by Peters6221
Summary: Alternate storyline to my "Branch" story. The first 4 chapters are the same, just to set up the same scenario. He travels to find an join a Brotherhood of four cats to fill the void left in his life by his exile.
1. Chapter 1: Confrontation

**I don't own warriors blah blah blah disclamer stuff.**

**Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Fireheart ran into camp, panting. "Rogues…attacking…Thunderclan…in danger!"

Tigerclaw was already in camp with the group of rogues Fireheart had suspected that _he_ brought. Tigerclaw's familiar battle cry rang out, and Fireheart looked over to see him attacking a rogue, confusing him. Maybe he was wrong about Tigerclaw leading them here?

Fireheart was bowled over by a large gray tabby. The rogue had him pinned on his back, and it raked at Fireheart's exposed belly. Fireheart screeched, and he kicked out the tabby's leg from underneath so that he could get away. He looked around for Tigerclaw, but he was nowhere to be seen. He feared the worst and started running to Bluestar's den, but yet again he was pinned down by the same rogue. And this time he wasn't letting go. Fireheart helplessly struggled while the rogue was about to go for the killing bite.

Suddenly the weight disappeared of his back with a jerk. Sandstorm had knocked him off. Fireheart tried to get his bearings, but was dazed. He saw the rogues finally running out of camp. Thunderclan was safe.

But he forgot about Tigerclaw. He heard Tigerclaw yowl behind him. "Bluestar has been killed in the fight!"

The Clan went silent. No one knew that Bluestar had only one life left. Except Fireheart.

"But, Bluestar still had three lives left, didn't she?" Runningwind asked.

"No." Fireheart spoke out before he realized what he was doing. "She only had one. She told me this not too long ago."

"Why didn't you say something, kittypet!" Tigerclaw growled. "The Clan deserves to know these things!"

"She gave me strict orders not to tell anyone until she died. She didn't want the Clan to worry about her."

"These have to be lies. Why would she tell a kittypet but not her deputy?"

"Maybe she didn't trust you." Once again he had spoken out without thinking.

Tigerclaw was furious. "What kind of talk is that? Why wouldn't she trust me?"

Fireheart took a deep breath. This was his chance to expose Tigerclaw's perfidy. But what if they didn't believe him? He figured that he was getting in over his head anyway by confronting Tigerclaw in front of the clan. "I told her about Redtail."

He could see a speck of fear in Tigerclaw's eyes, which was quickly replaced by anger. "Redtail? You didn't even know him! What could you possibly know about him?"

"I know how he died. And it wasn't Oakheart who killed him. It was you." Tigerclaw was about to speak, but Fireheart cut him off. He knew that if he was going to win this battle, he couldn't let Tigerclaw say anything. He had to get his story in first. "I've spoken to several cats who were at that battle, and all of them tell the same story: Oakheart died in a rock fall before Redtail died, and Riverclan fled. That leaves you and Redtail the only two cats there, and one of you somehow didn't make it back."

"How would you know any of this?"

"At gatherings I've asked around," he meowed, not daring to say he actually snuck into Riverclan territory to get this information.

"So you trust Riverclan cats more than me?"

"To be blunt, yes. Some of them, at least. I doubt the entire Clan would lie unless they were lied to by the cats at the battle." He glared at Tigerstar accusingly. "And Ravenpaw. I've asked him multiple times over the course of moons, and he remembers the same thing: you killing Redtail."

"How could you ask him? He's dead!"

"He's not. He ran away because you were spreading rumors that he was a spy, and he suspected that you were going to kill him for knowing. He was too scared of you to come forward about it himself, but he told me. I've talked to him in the moons since he left."

"So you think I'm a murderer because some Riverclan cats and a dead cat told you so?"

"It's evidence. More than you have. You are the only cat here that knows exactly what happened, but I have a pretty good guess."

"Fireheart," he heard Whitestorm speak, "this is ridiculous! I would have never expected something like this from you." He started to panic. He was riding on the clan's support, but he was losing it.

"I've heard enough of you kittypet. You shouldn't be here. Ever since you've come, you've never been able to adhere to the warrior code. You lied to the clan about multiple things, like Ravenpaw and Bluestar's lives. And now you're accusing your new leader of murder. You're deteriorating, Fireheart. You had a good run, but now you are just becoming a burden. I don't think you should live here anymore."

Fireheart was furious! Tigerclaw was trying to get rid of him. And he acted like he was trying to be nice about it, too!

"Fireheart, he is right. You haven't done much to help your cause recently, too. You lied about Ravenpaw being alive, you lied about Bluestar's lives, you lied about Graystripe's affair, and now you expect us to believe Tigerclaw is a murderer? I'm sorry, but I don't think you should stay, either." Other cats started to meow in agreement.

This was devastating coming from Whitestorm. The entire clan would side with Whitestorm now. He was on the verge of losing his home.

**These first four chapters are shared between this and my other story, "Fireheart's Exile: Branch."  
they share the same setup but follow Fireheart along different paths.  
Also, those of you who have read this before may notice some changes. I go through and edit minor details later, and I figured I needed to upload this thing after my long break from writing.**


	2. Chapter 2: Exile

**Still don't own warriors.  
Chapter 2: Exile**

"Fireheart, I believe I would have the support of the clan if I were to exile you. And I will."

Fireheart flinched at the words. He… he had just lost his home. He lost everything he worked so hard and fought for all these moons.

He walked towards the gorse tunnel and he could feel the entire clan staring at him. No one said a word. He walked by Sandstorm, who turned away from him in disgust. It was such a shame, too. She was finally turning into a great friend. _Fire alone can save our clan_. The prophecy streaked through his head like a falling star. He turned around and looked across camp.  
"You will regret this. One of these days, you will need me. I don't know why or when, but you will."

He padded out the tunnel before he could see a reaction. He didn't care anymore. He was too devastated to care. Fireheart figured Tigerclaw would put a death sentence on him, so he decided to leave Thunderclan territory. He walked along the river until he was on the side of the gorge in Windclan territory. He knew it was dangerous to be there, but it wasn't any different than standing in Thunderclan's, with one difference: Windclan didn't have a death sentence on him. He looked over the gorge, and took a few steps back. He prepared himself to jump.

Was he really ready to go through with this? He had just lost everything he had worked so hard for all his life, and there was no point to living anymore. But he didn't feel any cat should die like this. Throwing himself off a cliff in despair? Hardly an honorable death.

He heard a voice behind him. It was Tallstar. "Just because you brought us back doesn't give you free passage on our territory. What are you even doing here?"

"I was just leaving." He just walked upstream and went beyond Windclan territory.

**Short chapter. These get longer around ch. 7 so don't be discouraged. This is about 350 words of story, and ch.9 is about 2950 words of story. So yeah, I'm working on length.**

**So, he didn't end up killing himself. I hate it when these "Fireheart exile" stories end in suicide, so I won't do that to you, dear readers. And I don't want to be chased out of here by an angry mob with torches and pitchforks, so I'll keep him alive.**


	3. Chapter 3: What Should I Do?

**Chapter 3: What Should I Do?**

He wandered up the river until nightfall. He found a small cardboard box on its side and he crawled into it, and then he knocked it over so he was under it. He heard rain start to fall, along with thunder in the distance. The thunder only reminded him of Thunderclan. It made him feel lost and lonely. He drifted off to sleep with the soft patter of rain on his box.

The next morning, he woke up in a daze. For a moment he had forgotten yesterday's events, but it came flooding back to him like a badger's blow. He wondered what he should do with his life.

Should he try to join Windclan? _No, I couldn't just join another Clan like that. It's not easy_. Maybe he could try being a kittypet again. _Maybe. My former owners should be excited to see me again_. He made the trek back down the river until it started to look familiar again. It then occurred to him that he could try to live with Ravenpaw and Barley. Why wasn't this the _first_ thing he thought of? He would have friends to live with.

He approached to old barn they lived in. "Ravenpaw!" he called out.

"Fireheart? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Tigerclaw killed Bluestar. Or at least I think he did. Since he was leader, he exiled me, so now I don't have a home. I was wondering if I could come live with you."

Ravenpaw stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before he slowly responded, "Sure. I don't mind the company. I really feel horrible for you. You worked so hard to do what no other cat could do, and you lost it all at once, and not from any fault of your own. You deserve a nice place to live."

"Thanks."

He stayed with Ravenpaw for a few days, but he grew restless. He couldn't stand a sedentary lifestyle. He had to _do_ something. He had to have a purpose. He explained this to his friend, and he parted ways with him. He was a rogue again.

**Still short. I'll try to make them longer I promise. I should probably combine these chapters (this with Ch. 2) when I finish this story and edit everything to make it more smooth.**

**Sorry, that chapter was boring. And I know I didn't make Ravenpaw sound sympathetic, but I tried. Just pretend that Ravenpaw was extremely sympathetic. Strong emotion is still a kink in my not-really-developed creative writing skills that I'm trying to work out with this thing.**


	4. Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home

**Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home**

He cut back across the back of Windclan territory and wandered into the twolegplace. He went back to visit his old home. He didn't have any intention of staying, but he visited just because he could. When he got there, he saw a new kittypet. She was a brown tabby.

"Hello, there," she mewed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Fireheart. I used to live here. I'm looking for Smudge, actually."

"He went inside not too long ago. I doubt he would want to come back out."

"That's a shame. I wanted to talk to him before I go."

"Go where?"

"I've hit a rough patch in my life and I'm resorting to wandering."

"When you said you used to live here, why did you leave?" She sounded worried.

"I just wasn't fit for a kittypet lifestyle. My owners, well yours now, were great to me, but I just couldn't live like that. I went to live in the forest."

"You're a wild cat?"

"Well, I was, until a tyrant came to power and forced me out of my home. Now I don't know where to go."

"I'm sure my… _our_ owners would love to have you back. I could use someone to live with."

"No, thanks. I couldn't go back to being a kittypet after living in the forest. It's just not who I am."

"Well, whatever suits you. I wish you well in your new life. It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you, too. What did you say your name was again?"

"Hattie."

"Well, nice to visit, but I should be going. And tell Smudge that Rusty said 'hi.'"

Just as he was about to go, he saw a bird perch itself on a fencepost and he instinctively dropped into a hunter's crouch.

"I guess I haven't eaten in a day or so…" he muttered.

"I have some food if you want it." Hattie obviously didn't understand that he wanted the _bird_ for a meal, not twoleg food.

Fireheart jumped up at the bird and hooked it on his claws and drug it down to the ground. He finished it off with a killing bite. He glanced over at Hattie, and she looked horrified.

"What did you do _that_ for?"

"Food. What do you _think_ we ate in the forest? Grass?"

"I…I don't know. But why would you kill something like that for food?"

"You've obviously never had real meat. Here, have a bite."

"No-no thanks."

"Fine. Your loss. It tastes great." He finished his meal and buried the bones, with Hattie watching with the same horrified look on her face.

**This chapter is here just for the sake of fluff. Filler material. Unimportant stuff between interesting events. Whatever you want to call it. This is where the two different endings branch off. I recommend reading this one because the other may be a bit nicer and better to leave off with. Doesn't matter though.**


	5. Chapter 5: Travelling

****Chapter 5: Travelling****

He said goodbye to Hattie and set off back to the river.

_Now, where to go? Maybe back through twolegplace? No sane Clan cat would dare follow me through there. I could start a new life away from the Clans._

He went along a small Thunderpath for a while, finding a mouse along the way for a meal. As the sun was setting, he found a small garden and curled up in the corner, hoping no one would find him until morning.

He woke up to a paw poking his head.

"What are you doing in my garden?" A small tan she-cat asked.

"Just spending the night. I'll be going now." He hopped up onto the fence.

"But who ar-" He hopped away before she could finish her question. He didn't want the trouble.

As he travelled further into the twolegplace, he noticed that the nests were growing larger, and the gardens smaller. All that separated them now were alleys and maybe some small lawns. He couldn't find any prey, though he spent considerable amount of time trying to track.

_Twoleg rubbish. Ugh. I had hoped to never resort to eating this._ He forced himself to eat the stinking food the twolegs had thrown away. He once again had to find a place to spend the night. An alley seemed the most secluded. He started walking into one, only to be met with a hiss.

"You'll leave if you know what's good for you."

Fireheart couldn't see that cat, but could see its blue eyes reflecting light. "I'm not exactly helpless in a fight."

"Oh, is that a challenge?"

"I'd rather not get myself into trouble right now. I'm just trying to find a place to spend one night."

"There isn't a free alley for half a day's walk from here. If there ever is one, it's taken in moments. So good luck finding one. You'll need it."

Fireheart turned around and walked away, squaring his shoulders to at least appear tough. He sat down outside of the alley and looked around. He saw a staircase on the outside of a twolegs nest and decided to try it out. It was cold and hard and didn't have any bedding, but it was somewhere at least.

Over the next few days, the twoleg nests started getting smaller, more like the ones he was used to seeing. The cats seemed friendly, too, unlike the ones in the alleys.

Fireheart hopped up on a fence and looked around. Then he saw it. A forest. A small one, but still like he had known.

_I should check this out. It kind of reminds me of home._ He stood at the boundary for a moment before heading in. He remembered the first time he had set paw in the forest when he was a young kit. He remembered how mysterious and wonderful it was. Now, those feelings weren't the same. He felt confident, like he knew, like he owned the place. Apparently, the locals didn't like that.  
**  
Chapters are getting a little longer.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Brotherhood

****Chapter 6: The Brotherhood****

A cat plowed into Fireheart's flank at full pelt, knocking him over and knocking the wind out of him. He looked up to see three cats, one brown, one a blue-ish gray, and the third white.

"It's unwise to just walk into here." The brown one spoke.

"It's our territory, and we don't necessarily like outsiders," meowed the gray one.

_Oh, how much have I heard THIS bit before?  
_"So now, we fight. To teach you a lesson." The white one had a cold voice. "And we're the toughest ones around."

The white one seemed to tell the truth. They were fairly big cats, except the white one was a bit on the small side, but they appeared to be slow. When the grey one lunged at him, he exploited this. Fireheart dodged under him, and kicked him up into a tree trunk. The brown one had pounced, too, and had pinned Fireheart to the ground, clawing his flank. It was clear that these cats weren't just trying to scare him.

Fireheart focused all of his energy into pushing his attacker off and slicing its flank, letting blood flow down the cat as it shrieked in pain. The white one also lunged at him, but Fireheart jumped sideways and tripped him up. He then pinned the white cat and held his claw to its throat.

"Try to attack me again and he gets it," Fireheart growled. He questioned whether or not he could even bring himself to carry out the threat, but they seemed to believe him. The others just looked at him in fear.

"Stand down, brothers" the white one groaned. "Let him go. Though, I think he's worthy."

"What do you mean 'worthy'?" Fireheart dared asking.

"Worthy to join us, of course." The brown one answered.

"Who's 'us'?"

"We are the brotherhood. We aren't really brothers, of course, but it's a name that's been here for generations." The gray one spoke up. "We are selected in accordance to our strength and color of pelt." _Seems like odd criteria._ "I am Rain."

"I am Wind" said the white one.

"And I am Earth," meowed the brown cat.

Rain continued, "There are traditionally four of us, but Blaze, our orange one, unfortunately… met his death a couple of days ago."

"May I ask how?"

"Well, he went out hunting alone a few days ago, and we went out to look for him when he didn't come back. We found him by the road in a pool of blood. Must have been hit by one of those twoleg monsters. That's what it looked like. He wouldn't have been easy to murder."

_'Road' must be their word for Thunderpath. If they're talking about the same monsters I think they are talking about. _"So you're looking for someone to fill his spot?"

"Well, yes. Most of the house cats around here are scared of us."

"I can't imagine why…" Fireheart didn't mean to say that out loud, but it just slipped out.

"And you're strong. You've clearly had some experience fighting, too. We would let you join."

"I guess I need a new home. Sure."

"We have some customs you'll need to get used to, but you seem like a good fit."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"So, what's your name?"

"Fireheart."

"You'll have to drop the last part of it for your name to really fit in."

"…I guess. It's not exactly a permanent name."

**So now he's just "Fire." Why a brotherhood? Because I suck at writing love plots so I wanted to keep that possibility out of it. I tried to point out that Fire(heart) is stronger than the other 3 because he beat them in a fight, despite them looking strong.**


	7. Chapter 7: Stories

**Chapter 7: Stories**  
He followed Rain, Earth, and Wind back to where they had made their nests in the middle of a large bramble bush. There was a path where the thorns had been smoothed off and the dirt packed hard, showing that it had been in use a long time.

"We need to show you where we live. Hope you can make yourself comfortable in a thorn bush," remarked Rain.

"I'm used to it. Just need some moss and I'll be fine."

"We can show you where to get some later. For now, you should get to know us."

They entered into a small hollow in the bramble just large enough to hold four nests. He saw their nests, and could tell where his should be.

"So, Fire," spoke Wind, "I guess you should get to know us if you're going to live with us."

"You already know our names, so we may as well tell our stories," said Earth.

"I'll start." Rain seemed almost excited.

"He just loves to talk. He's young. Hopefully he'll learn to quiet up and give us some peace," Earth murmured in Fire's ear. He had to stop himself from chuckling a little.

"Well," Rain started, "When I was a kit, I would fight with my littermates. We were constantly trying to outdo each other. Our mother didn't like it, but it kept us strong. Eventually I moved away from home and tried to live as a kittypet, but none of the other kittypets wanted to fight, not even playfully, so I left. I found these woods and tried to live, but the brotherhood chased me out. I wandered around twolegplace a while, but found it too tough to live. Savage cats killing over twoleg rubbish. Figured it would be easier to come back here where there was at least some prey, and it turned out the one of their members, Storm, had died since last time, so they let me join because I was strong enough, I guess. With you here, I'm just glad I'm not the new one anymore, to be honest."

"You're all 'new ones' to me…" muttered Wind.

"Wind's been here longer than any of us," explained Earth. "But, I may as well tell my story. I was born in twolegplace, but not as a kittypet. I belonged to a group of cats called Bloodclan."

_ A fifth Clan? In twolegplace? How could we not have known? Or was Bluestar, or even Starclan hiding siding something from me?_

"It wasn't very organized, or much of a great place to be, really. The leader, Scourge, rules out of fear of him and his elites. They get first dibs on any prey, and the rest of us were left to fend for ourselves. We each lived in an alley, usually shared with someone else. We weren't allowed to be with family unless it was kits with their mother. Now, only the toughest cats got live prey because they would chase away anyone else who tried to get it. Not the most peaceful or safest life. Everyone is constantly fighting each other. So, when I got tired of eating twolegs rubbish, I started getting tough. I fought my way all the way to getting myself into Scourge's elites. Though, when I got there, I found that there still wasn't much prey to eat because we couldn't go into the forest for any. The wildcats there always chase us out. Say they can't give up even a mouse, but they have no idea what _we_ live like. I left Bloodclan because I felt I could have an easier life elsewhere. I left on good terms, of course. I could still go back and get the same respect. I found this place and there was an opening, so I joined. It was a chance at a better life, so I took it."

"Wow, that's more than you've said over the past moon!" Rain joked. Earth just glared at him with his amber eyes. "He never says much of anything," Rain muttered to Fire.

"I guess it's my turn." Wind seemed reluctant to talk. "I don't remember much from when I was a kit. But I remember my brother Blaze, the one you're replacing actually. He was significantly bigger and stronger than me, and he never let me forget it. I may be a bit small, but he was… _unnaturally_ large, if you know what I mean. Massive cat with claws that look like they should be on a lion."

"Oh, I know a cat like that" Fire growled. "They're never any good are they?"

"Exactly. I followed him around, trying to be as good as him. I was with him when we found the Brotherhood. They had actually been in a nasty fight and lost two of their members, so we filled in. I only put up with my brother to try to be as good as him. Of course, I could never be bigger or stronger than he was, but I could be a _smarter_ fighter. And so I was. I have a feeling you may be a bit of a smart one yourself, judging by our fight earlier. Now, that's as much as you'll get out of me for now. I'm going on a walk. Alone."

Wind got up and padded out of the bramble.

"They never got along" Earth meowed.

"What?"

"Wind and Blaze. Hated each other. More than your normal sibling rivalry. Seemed as if they were waiting for each other to die, since neither of them could win a fight well enough to kill the other. I have a feeling Wind won't like you because your pelt reminds him of Blaze."

_Then how do you know that Blaze got hit by a monster and not murdered?_

"Wind was with us when Blaze died, so we know he didn't murder his brother" Rain spoke, as if reading Fire's mind. "But yeah, you may want to watch your back. We aren't allowed to hurt other Brothers, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a murder. Of course, if you get caught trying to murder you're chased out, but it could still happen."

"You know, Fire, you haven't said anything about yourself," Earth pointed out. "Why don't you give us a nice story to listen to?"

"I… I'd rather not think about my past, to be honest."

"Not a good life?"

"It was a nice life, but I try not to think about what happened."

"What, you involved in some accident or something?"

"I said I don't want to talk about what happened."

"I understand, but you'll have to tell us eventually" Earth said.

Rain chuckled. "Aren't you a bit young to be that loner with a mysterious past that no one knows about? I thought they were usually older" he grinned.

Fire took a playful swat at him. 'I'll tell you all, but just not now. Once the pain fades."

**That last sentence is significant.  
I'm updating this one too after 6 months to show I'm not neglecting it. I noticed quite a few of you were coming over from my other story (Fireheart's Exile: Branch), so I'm updating this too.**

**If you ask me stuff in the reviews, I'll answer you via PM.**


	8. Chapter 8: Shed Blood

****Chapter 8: Shed Blood****

****(Sorry there isn't actually a new chapter; I just edited this because I screwed up what a bobcat looks like and needed fix it)****

****(Like really why did I think bobcats were gray. Well I guess some can be but not usually)****

Fire was out with the brothers on one of their standard patrols. They didn't have set patrol times like back in Thunderclan; they patrolled whenever they felt like it. It wasn't always the four of them, sometimes just two or three. But nonetheless, the four of them were out today.

It hadn't been two moons since he'd found this place. He got along quite well with the others, though Wind seemed to dislike him because of Blaze. Rain was the closest friend by far, though. He was just fun to be around, and they both were significantly younger than the other two. Earth liked to tag along sometimes. Wind just kept to himself for the most part, occasionally going on patrol with Earth, but usually just preferring hunting alone.

Whenever Fire had spent his time alone, he would jump from tree to tree, trying to gain strength. And it didn't hurt to learn how to survive in the tree and keep his scent off the ground. _You can't track what you can't scent_ he would tell them. And it was true. He had ditched Rain once to see if the gray tom could even find him if he was in the trees. He almost broke out laughing when Rain came to the end of his scent trail where Fire had jumped up into a tree, and just stood there, dumbfounded. It may be a useless skill to be able to live in the trees, but at least it made him stronger. He was getting close to the size of Tigerstar, and he still was growing. Plus, he was as nimble as ever from jumping from branch to branch so quickly. And he hadn't neglected his fighting skills, either. He and Rain had made a habit of ambushing each other and fighting. No claws, of course; they weren't trying to hurt each other, just keeping strength and skill up.

"I think I'll go hunt by myself," Wind had muttered as he left the patrol. This wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence. They weren't suspicious of him or anything because there weren't all that many rules. They were allowed to have mates if they wanted, and they could have friends outside the brotherhood, though these didn't happen too much because they spent enough time together that they didn't need outside relations. You had the bonds with your brothers, and that's all most cats needed. Either that or you preferred to be alone. The only real purpose of the Brotherhood was to protect the land they were on. The story is that this small forest was once anarchy, and rogues just fought each other for their own personal territory. Some individuals made alliances with others, but there were plenty of betrayals. Eventually, four strong cats banded together and drove everyone else out and ruled it alone, driving off anyone else who tried to take it. To keep this peace for generations to come, they established the Brotherhood to forever hold the peace of the land long beyond their own deaths, so that blood should not be spilled so much in constant wars. And it worked. Beyond the first few years, there weren't many attacks to try to take the territory over the generations, and even those were a couple rogues who were stubborn about trying to live in a forest. But beyond defending the territory and vowing to protect your Brothers, there weren't really many rules to live by.

As Fire, Rain, and Earth approached the eastern border, they were lucky to have the wind to their backs, but that just meant that their faces would be blasted by the wind on the way back. They had just sat down to rest a second when they heard a snarl from the bushes.

One of the cats leaping in an ambush was a small, light brown tabby while the other was an unnaturally large spotted cat that was what he figured a leopard would look like, huge enough that Tigerstar would look like an apprentice next to him. _How can a cat even get that big? _Fire had thought in the time it took the smaller one to crash into him, sending him helplessly into the ground. They huge one had jumped Earth. Rain had elected to pounce at the large one, hoping to lend an extra paw. Fire snapped out of his daze and flung the smaller cat off of him with ease. But this cat was quick. He jumped right back at Fire, but he sidestepped the tabby and bit his hind legs, sinking his powerful jaws right down to the bone of his attacker. The rogue yelped with pain at the same time he heard Earth do the same. He broke free and jumped over at Rain to knock him off of the larger cat (he honestly wasn't doing all that much to help Earth; the cat was just too big and his neck fur was too matted to try to get a good bite on him). The gray one had tried to bite Earth's throat out, but at least Earth was quick enough to twist his neck out of the way, so only his shoulder got bitten. Fire threw himself and all his weight at the larger cat's legs while Rain wrestled with the injured tabby. He managed to knock out a hind leg, making the attacker stumble and pull his teeth out of Earth. But when the teeth came out, so did a chunk of Earth's flesh, leaving a huge chunk taken out of his shoulder. Fire sliced into its flanks, which had less matted fur. Blood came welling out of its flank, and Fire had clearly attracted its attention. It reared up and spun around, trying to land on Fire. He dodged it, though, and its paws hit the ground with a hearty _thud_. He backed away, knowing it wasn't exactly the fight he should pick alone. He saw Rain, who had apparently driven the already-injured light brown tabby away, rush over to Earth to try to help him with the injury. This left Fire with this… _beast_ stalking him. Fire tried to lunge at him in an attempt to knock the spotted cat off balance and maybe slashing its face, only to have _his_ face met with claws as he was thrown, bleeding, onto the ground. The beast made no hesitation pinning him down and sinking its massive jaws into Fire's throat. Fire couldn't even process the pain, and he started seeing stars in his eyes. What happened next was a blur to him, as he was barely conscious.

Rain had pinned the smaller tabby on its belly, and he was raking its flanks with his hind claws while he bit its neck. It started squealing, and he let it bolt off away from them. He looked over to Earth, expecting to find the larger cat, but instead seeing an injured Earth moaning in pain, and with blood going everywhere. He raced over to Earth without a thought in his mind about the huge cat or Fire.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, is there anything I can do? Put pressure on it to stop the bleeding so much?"

"I can do that myself" Earth responded through gritted teeth. "I think Fire needs your help more right now." He flicked his ears over to where Fire was just getting clawed in the face mid-air. When it pinned Fire, he had run over to it, rolled on his back, and slid under the huge thing and clawed at its belly with all four paws as it sank its teeth into Fire's throat. It took its teeth out of Fire and let out a yowl in pain. As it tilted its head up, it could only stare helplessly as Wind came crashing down onto its face from a tree, claws flying at it. Wind clawed its face mercilessly while it tried to throw him off, but he was latched on tightly. Rain had seized the opportunity to bite down on its legs to cripple it. The large dark gray cat howled in pain as it turned to flee, its face with blood pouring all over it and blinded in one eye from Wind's claws slicing through it. It limped heavily away, as Rain had probably broken its leg with his jaws.

"Where-?"

"No time to ask right now. Go over and help Earth. I've got Fire, if he's still alive" Wind commanded. Rain gave a quick nod and bounded over to help Earth, while Wind went over to where Fire was lying on his side, bleeding into the grass from his face and throat.

"Come on Fire," Wind muttered. "Stay with me here. I won't let a brother die if I can help it."

Fire couldn't understand anything Wind was trying to say to him. In fact, he could barely tell Wind was even there at all. Was that even Wind? _Is there even a cat next to me?_ The bright white stars in his eyes grew larger and larger. He tried blinking them away.

"Yeah, Fire, just keep blinking. Just let me know you're still here."

_What's that voice even saying? Whose is it? Or is it in my head?_

"Just keep blinking until I can get help."

The stars had begun to cover his vision in blinding light, and now he couldn't see.

"Just keep blinking…"

He hadn't experienced death before. _Is this really what dying is like? I always imagined it more… painful_.

"Just keep blinking…"

He tried shutting his eyes tight to make the light go away, and then he plunged into blackness.

** I bet y'all loved that.**


	9. Chapter 9: Scars

**Chapter 9: Scars**

****Just to clarify, last chapter, it was a bobcat that attacked them (for no particular reason; just a plot device). And why was there another regular cat with it? No idea. Just needed more than one thing fighting but two bobcats would have resulted in immediate death of all four of them and that's not what I was trying to do in that chapter. And yeah, I bet some of you are mad at me for faking the whole ending/death thing. But hey, if I get an emotional response from you then I did my job as an author properly.****

"No! Don't you _dare_ stop blinking, Fire!" Wind shouted at the unconscious cat before him. "Damn it, do you guys have cobwebs or anything I can use for Fire? He's dying over here and he'll stay dead for sure if I don't stop this bleeding!"

**Oh yeah, in case you didn't pay attention to the rating, it's T because this is where the swearing starts.**

"Earth crawled over to these roots and found a ton of them while we were fighting!" Rain called over.

"Move out of the way then!" Wind yelled as he bolted over to get some. He just stuck his paw in a mass of it and swirled it around, getting them all caught up on his paw. He didn't even take time to check for the spiders that spun them. He raced back to Fire and started pressing them all over the bleeding cat's face and neck. There thankfully weren't any spiders on the webs, so he didn't have to take the time to get rid of them. But the cuts and gashes in Fire's face and throat were deep, and they might never heal right. Especially since none of them knew exactly how to heal well.

"Hey Earth!" he called over to the wounded cat, who was still awake, but couldn't really stand or walk under his own power without pain. "What did Storm always say to fight infections?"

"I think marigold!" Earth replied.

_Damn it, why couldn't Storm be here? He was always good with these things. If he was here, then Fire surely would live._ _He'd always been a great healer._ But now, with only Wind and Earth's combined vague memories to help them, Fire didn't have a guaranteed survival. Still, Wind had found some marigold quickly and chewed it up on the way back so he could put it on Fire. The bleeding hadn't really stopped, so he had to change the cobweb and clean the wounds. Only Fire's shallow breathing told Wind he was still hanging on, barely.

"Think you can make it back home, Earth? We need to get Fire somewhere safe but I don't want to leave you out here."

"I- I'll be fine if Rain helps me walk. But I'll be slow." Rain used his shoulder to help Earth stand up and slowly walk. Wind grabbed Fire's scruff and dragged him all the way back to their bush. _How much does he weigh?_ Wind thought, finding it difficult to drag such dead weight with him. They had to stop a few times, both for Earth's injury and Wind getting tired out from dragging the cumbersome, limp Fire. On one of the stops, Earth found some poppies.

"Poppy for pain. I remember that well from when I dislocated my shoulder." He took some back for when, _if, _Fire woke up. By sunset they had all gotten back. Wind used the last of the cobweb still around his paw to replace the blood-soaked ones still on Fire.

"I'm glad you turned up when you did." Rain broke the silence. "Otherwise we might all have been crowfood."

"I heard Earth yowl and went as quickly as I could through the trees. When I saw that _thing_ trying to kill Fire, I couldn't just sit there. I couldn't let him die. And I won't."

"Why do you care so much? It always seemed you didn't like him because he reminds you of Blaze."

"No. In fact, he's the opposite. Blaze was always so stuck-up, arrogant, overbearing, and was too good for anyone, even his own brother. But Fire… he's better. He knows his place, is rather kind, and likes to have fun. He's kind of like the little brother I wish I had." Wind felt himself grow hot under his fur and blood rush in his ears because he hadn't really opened up feelings before.

"Oh, so you _do _have a heart in there somewhere!" jested Rain, poking Wind playfully with his paw.

Wind just glared at him. "This is why I don't share usually share it with you."

"So that's why you can't let him die."

Wind hesitated before giving a slow nod and quietly replying, "yes."

* * *

Rain was out helping Earth get walking again. It would be quite a while before all that flesh was grown back and he would fully heal, but he did what he could to not let the rest of his foreleg atrophy. It was no use just sitting around doing nothing. It hurt like no other, but he would be fine within a moon.

Fire, on the other hand, was still unconscious, with Wind sitting by him most of the time just waiting for the orange tom to wake up.

_"You can only give him so long"_ his conversation with Earth was playing back through his head.

_"But we can wait longer. He's not dead."_

_"Yet. If he stays like this too much longer, you'll just have to end it. I personally think three days is long enough."_

_"You mean you would have killed him already!?"_

_"I don't like watching him suffer like that for that long. But I can tell he means something to you. We should give him a couple more days, but after that, he's not going to wake up, and you have to face that. I know you don't want to, but I also know you're no fool."_

Movement brought him out of his thoughts. _Fire?_ The orange tom was moving, ever so slightly, shifting out of his sleep. He opened his eyes to a sliver, his vision still fuzzy a bit.

"How you feeling buddy?"

"Wha…"

"You're still just waking up aren't you? But hey, that's great. Better than dead" Wind spoke with a soothing tone.

"Wind, what…?"

"That giant cat nearly killed you. I had to drag your body all the way back here. Rain helped Earth limp all the way back. He didn't get it as bad as you, but he certainly didn't get off easy. Speaking of which, they're out doing some therapeutic walking for Earth to try to get him back to normal soon."

Fire's eyes opened more. "ugh, my head hurts."

"Here, have some of these." Wind shoved a few poppy seeds over to him.

"Yeah, poppy is what I need right about now" Fire groaned out.

"Hey, your voice seems different."

"Does it?"

"It's a lot deeper and scratchier. Probably from your throat nearly being, you know, ripped out of you. Maybe it'll heal back to normal. And hang on, turn your head a bit. I need to check your face…" Wind poked the right side of Fire's face, where his skin and fur had been ripped off from his cheek to his muzzle, just narrowly below his eye.

"Ahh! Don't touch it, it stings!"

"Well, the pain means it's trying to heal. But it will take longer than those cuts on the other side of your face. Not as serious, but not too shallow. Those might scar too."

"How bad is it?"

"Well, the right side of your face was nearly ripped off. At least a good chunk of it anyway, along your cheek and muzzle. Lucky that thing didn't rip your eye out, or you might have a fun time trying to hunt again. And it almost did, too, but it missed by a hair." Even as Wind was talking, Fire seemed to be in extreme pain. The poppies weren't helping much. "I know, it hurts more than I can imagine. But at least you aren't dead. You really worried me by not so much as twitching over the past three days."

"Three days?!"

"Yeah. Earth was convinced you weren't going to wake up."

"Three days and Starclan doesn't so much as try to comfort me…" Fire muttered.

"What?"

"…? Oh, nothing. Nothing important."

"No, really," Wind nudged his shoulder encouragingly, "what did you say? Something about stars?"

"Just something from past, that's all. Nothing that matters anymore" he replied bitterly in his new, deeper voice.

"Hey, you owe us a good story, and now is as good of a time as any since you aren't going to be doing much for a while. The others may not be around, but I'm interested."

Fire was a bit confused. Why was Wind being so kind to him all of a sudden when he's been cold the whole time? "No," he mewed dryly. "I said I don't want to."

"Look, why are you so angry all of a sudden? What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Look, I know _something's_ bothering you."

"No, I really mean nothing."

Wind let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, you can tell me what's bugging you."

"I don't think you realize. I mean I'm upset because _nothing happened._"

"What, while you were unconscious?"

"Yes."

"What did you expect to happen? That you were just going to get up and walk it off in your sleep?"

"No, you don't understand."

"Then explain it to me. Like I said, you're not going anywhere soon, so we have time."

"Fine. I was expecting a form of dream, you could say."

"What, like your life flashing before your eyes?"

"No, not quite. I was expecting someone."

"In your dreams? Who?"

Fire sighed. "See, this will require explaining most of my life, which is what I wanted to avoid, but I guess I can't put it off any longer."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine, I guess. I couldn't have dodged this forever. See, I came from a forest a ways away from here. Life's different over there. There are 4 warrior clans fighting for territory and prey. The borders are set, but that doesn't keep other clans from sneaking in."

"Why do they fight each other? They may as well share, or at least stop fighting, since the borders don't change."

"That's what I thought. But when I asked that question they all got mad at me. The thing was, though, they couldn't find a good answer to my question See, it's just stuff drilled into any kit's head while they still take the answer 'because it just is' and they never question it. They're raised to never doubt their loyalty to their clan, and to die defending it."

"So there's a lot of pride involved in being a member of a certain clan, I'm guessing."

"Exactly. But see, I was born a kittypet, and the leader at the time decided to bring me in. A very odd move on her part, because that never happens. So of course, half the clan hates me just for being a kittypet even after I prove myself time and time again. I probably saved everyone's tails more times in the year I was there than most will in their whole lives. But they didn't care. All they cared about was how I broke the Warrior Code on occasion."

"Warrior code?"

"The clans all live by the same code of honor, and they keep each other in check to make sure it's not broken. It works surprisingly well, actually. But the problem is, I would break the rules trying to help everyone. So while I broke the warrior code, I saved the clan, and no one knew how to feel about that. But since Starclan favored me, it worked out mostly."

"Starclan?" _So many things I don't know. Clan life must have been complicated. I'm surprised he absorbed it all, if he's really a kittypet like he says._

"Starclan is all of the warrior ancestors. When you die, you go there. They rule over the clans, protecting them, giving prophecies, and punishing some cats if necessary. They used to send me dreams with prophecies sometimes, because I was special or something, and I've spoken with cats long dead. And sometimes Starclan warriors just want to visit living cats. Or when you're near death, someone you know helps ease you into the afterlife. So that's what I was expecting. Even if I wasn't dead, I figured I was liked enough to at least get some words of comfort, even just for being thrown out against my will like I was. You know, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, actually." He bitterly added, "Unfortunately, I can't deny their existence, even if I've lost my faith in them."

"You were thrown out?" Wind asked, still not entirely comprehending what Fire was going on about.

"Yes. See, a cat, Tigerstar, murdered our deputy to become deputy himself. He framed it as just a death in a border skirmish and everyone bought into it because he's a highly regarded warrior. I caught onto it though because, unlike everyone who had just always known him to be a great warrior, I was brought into the clan the day it happened. I could tell right from the start there wasn't something right with him. I asked around with other cats who were at the battle, and Tigerstar's story didn't add up, and I found out he had murdered the deputy. No one would believe me if I told them, though. And then, after he was made deputy, he murdered our leader. At least I think he did under the cover of battle. He led a bunch of rogues into our camp, which he claimed innocence to and no one else could prove him wrong, and he slunk off into our leader's den. Then she turns up dead after the battle, so he's going to be leader. I tried to warn everyone about how he had murdered his way to leader, but no one would hear it. He exiled me because I knew too much about him and I was a threat to his control. If only everyone believed me, then _he_ would be the one with a death sentence on him. But I guess everyone will see how bloodthirsty he really is, because he can't keep up his nice-guy act much longer. Then they'll see that I was right and be pretty sorry they didn't listen to me. Oh well. Not my problem anymore. They didn't want me to help, so I'll stay away. They had their chance to keep me and raise me to be one of them, but they blew it."

Wind's head was reeling a bit. He was trying to absorb everything Fire had just rambled to him. "So let me get this straight. You were born a kittypet, you got taken into a clan, they mistreated you and threw you out on your own after only a year, and now you're upset because your warrior ancestors aren't consoling you about it?"

"Exactly," Fire growled in response. "Now I can see I wasn't worth anything to them. Even my friends didn't stand up for me." His claws had slipped out from rage.

"Hey, clam down Fire." Wind gave him a comforting lick on the head. "You just woke up from a 3-day coma. You don't need stress right now."

Fire sheathed his claws again. "Fine." He suddenly found himself hungry. "Hey, is there any food lying around? I haven't eaten in three days."

"No, not lying around." Fire started to get up and go hunting, but he could barely stand. "Uh, no. You're not doing anything, Fire. Not until you're better."

Fire just lay back down in defeat to his injury, trying to ignore the immense stinging his scars brought him.

**THAT was really long, for me. I could have ended it at the line but that would be short and accomplish about nothing.**

**I'm getting this out of the way right now: About a year ago when I was first planning on doing maybe some chapter story I can publish, I read Glowing-Emberzzz's story "Exiled" and decided to do a Fireheart Exile story. About 4 months later I start writing Branch, then a month after that I starting thinking of this plotline. I went back and read it again this week and realized that it looks like I kinda took a few names (in my defense, "Rain" has been my default name for gray cats for years) and now the bobcat thing looks like Lion from that story, and oh well. When I was reading through it again I was like "crap I subconsciously stole that" "oh hey look another thing I subconsciously stole" "Oh hey now it looks like I'm stealing the story yaaaayyyyyy." Though I can say the general idea and general path of this plotline was inspired by that story, I'm not trying to copy it. I would just like to point out that it had been 5 months since I had read it and didn't even remember details all that much. Will it kinda be similar? Yeah I won't deny parallels, but I can guarantee I'm not doing the love thing and that the ending will be different (hopefully unique). But I would just like to say that it's not a take-off on that universe and any OC characters that share a name aren't the same ones.**

**And in other news, I have the Epilogue written for this. I don't have everything between now and then written, but I had to force myself to finalize the ending before I overthink and change what I think it should be for the 100th time.**


End file.
